Tasmannia purpurascens
Tasmannia purpurascens, commonly known as the broad-leaved pepperbush, is a shrub in the primitive family Winteraceae and is only found growing in the Barrington Tops and Ben Halls Gap regions of New South Wales. It is locally abundant in a restricted subalpine habitat with high rainfall, often growing in the ecotone in association with Antarctic Beech.
Description
Tasmannia purpurascens usually grows to a height of with a woody stem, purplish new growth and branchlets. The leaves are egg-shaped with a rounded tip, mostly long and wide. They are glabrous with a purplish base, lack a distinct petiole and have a raised midrib on the lower surface. Creamy-white flowers about wide and arranged in umbels appear in November. The flowers are either male or female but occur on the same plant. There are two petals long and female flowers have an ovary about long. Fleshy, purplish-black, oval-shaped berries around long are seen around Easter time.Taxonomy and naming
The broad-leaved pepperbush was first formally described in 1937 by Joyce Vickery who gave it the name Drimys purpurascens and published the description in Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. In 1969, Albert Smith transferred the species to Tasmannia based on its chromosome number of 13, compared to 43 in most others in Drimys. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin word purpureus meaning "purple" with the suffix -escens meaning "becoming" referring to the reddish-purple base of the midvein.The genus Tasmannia is of interest to scientists as these plants are some of the most primitive of all angiosperms. They have a primitive flowering structure and the wood is similar to that of conifers, in that it lacks vessels.
In common with other members of the genus, it is sometimes known as "pepperbush" because of the spicy fruits and seeds which have been used to flavour food.